Soupe Au Pistou @ La Provence
"Pistou" is the French equivalent of "pesto," the Italian mixture of basil, garlic, and other herbs. Provençal food has decided likenesses with Northern Italian, which explains what that's doing in a restaurant cooking in the style of the south of France. This soup is a country-style vegetable and bean soup, the pistou floating on top and giving a magical deliciousness. The soup is part of the nightly $29 three-course special menu. Whether I get that menu or not, I almost always have this soup if it turns up. And what with all the basil they grow over there, we will probably enjoy it often before winter kills it all.
